Mumbai

I

Introduction

Mumbai or Bombay (city), city in western India, capital of Mahārāshtra State and premier port of India, located on the Arabian Sea. Mumbai proper occupies a low-lying area that once consisted of seven islands separated from each other only during high tide. Dredging and reclamation projects, as well as the construction of breakwaters and causeways, have linked the islands into a contiguous stretch of land known as Bombay Island. The city is framed to the east on the mainland by the towering Western Ghats mountain range. Immediately to the north of Bombay Island is Salsette Island. Mumbai, known as Bombay until its name was officially changed in 1995, is the leading financial center of India as well as a major national commercial, transportation, and manufacturing hub. It has one of the world’s largest harbors: a broad, sheltered bay between the city and the mainland.

Mumbai is located south of the Tropic of Cancer but north of the equator and has small seasonal temperature fluctuations. In January the average low temperature is 19° C (67° F) and the average high temperature is 30° C (85° F); in May the average low temperature is 27° C (81° F) and the average high temperature is 33° C (92° F). Mumbai’s temperatures have reached as high as about 42° C (about 108° F) and as low as about 7° C (about 45° F). The mean annual temperature is 27.5 °C (81.5 °F). The average annual rainfall is 2,170 mm (85 in). Because of the southwest monsoon winds, more than 95 percent of the annual rainfall occurs during the four-month period of June through September. Mumbai also has high humidity, with an annual average of 87 percent.

The name Mumbai was developed in reference to a temple of the Hindu goddess Mumba, also known as Parvati, which once stood in the southeastern part of the city. Mumbai’s former name, Bombay, comes from the Portuguese Bom Bahia, meaning “Fair Bay.” Both names, which are somewhat similar, have been used for centuries: Bombay was used by the Europeans who first took control of the area in the 1500s and Mumbai by the native Mahārāstrians.

II

Mumbai and Its Metropolitan Area

The older part of the city, Mumbai proper, occupies an area of 68 sq km (26 sq mi) south of Māhīm Creek. This area is the densest part of Mumbai, with the highest concentration of population and commercial and industrial activities. Greater Mumbai, including Salsette Island, covers an area of 438 sq km (169 sq mi). The focal point of Mumbai was once the Fort area in the south central part of the city, where commercial and administrative activities were concentrated. When Salsette Island was made part of Mumbai, residential, industrial, and administrative areas developed there as well. Industries mostly lie in Parel and its surrounding area, between Māhīm Creek in the north and the Fort area in the south. Slums are abundant north of Māhīm Creek and around the factories, such as in Parel, Dādra, and Mātunga. Nearly 35 percent of Greater Mumbai’s population live in slums, some of which remain submerged in knee-deep water during the four-month period of monsoon rains.

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Mumbai has a mixture of architectural styles that reflect the long colonial presence in the city as well as the phenomenal recent growth. One of the most famous landmarks in Mumbai is a structure known as the Gateway of India, often the first sight beheld by sea travelers arriving at the city. Colonial monuments in Mumbai include the Presidency Secretariat, which was built in a Venetian Gothic style and developed into the administrative and legislative headquarters of Bombay State after India’s independence in 1947; the University Hall, in a 15th-century French style; the University Library and Rajabai Clock Tower, in an early Gothic design; and the High Court, which has a high tower in an early English style. The pillared Town Hall is in a Greek style and occupies the eastern side of a busy traffic area. Horniman Circle, a famous area where three roads converge, includes the old Mint, the old Customs House, and a castle, which lies at the center of the Fort area. The Victoria Terminus, known as VT and renamed Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus in 1996, is adjacent to St. George’s and Dadabhai Navroji roads. Beside one of Mumbai’s busiest traffic nodes, where seven roads converge, is the terminus of India’s Central Railway. The Municipal Building, a combination of Oriental and Gothic architecture, stands in front of the terminus, and has a 78-m (256-ft) high stone dome. In the southeast part of the city, on the east side of Back Bay along Netaji Subhashchandra Bose Road (formerly known as Marine Drive), lie the low-rise skyscrapers of the 1940s, while in the southwest of the peninsula are the Malabar and Cumbala hills. The hills were once home to Europeans when living quarters in the Fort area became congested; now well-to-do Indians reside here. The Parsi Towers of Silence, a sacred place where the Parsi people lay out their dead, Hindu Babulnath Temple, the Hanging Gardens, and Kamala Nehru Park, which features a scenic view of Mumbai, are all located on Malabar Hill. To the west are the Elephanta cave temples dating from the 8th century on a small island off the Mumbai Harbor.

Mumbai’s island location has constrained its ability to spread and grow over a wide area. Consequently, high-rise residential and commercial constructions are emphasized. Dozens of towering skyscrapers have emerged since the 1970s at the Nariman Point area at the southern end of the peninsula. Although the main financial and office locations are still lodged in the Fort area, a southward shift has already begun for office and financial activities. The Bombay Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange in India, moved to Nariman Point. It was extensively damaged by terrorist bomb blasts in 1993.

III

Population

In 2001 Greater Mumbai had a population of 11,914,398. This figure was more than twice the size of the 1961 population. Growth in Mumbai proper has declined since the 1950s because of the already high levels of congestion there. In response, there has been a consistently higher growth of population in the outer ring of the metropolis. In 2001, the largest metropolitan area population in India. Part of the reason for the metropolitan area population growth is migrants. Mumbai attracts a large number of migrants not only from within the state of Mahārāshtra but also from many other parts of India. Often these new migrants are single males.

Mumbai is one of the most diverse cities in India. Most of its people are Hindus, but there are also large minorities of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, and Buddhists. Parsis are a small but significant group and have a higher concentration in Mumbai than any other place in the world. Many leading businesspeople, scholars, and philanthropists belong to Mumbai Parsi families. Several different languages are spoken in Greater Mumbai. Marathi, Gujarati, Urdu, and Hindi are the main languages spoken; English is the language of the elite.

IV

Education and Culture

The literacy rate in Greater Mumbai is high compared to other Indian metropolises; about four-fifths of the population is literate. The University of Mumbai (founded in 1857) has two campuses, one in the old Fort area and a new campus, established in the 1970s, north of Māhīm Creek in Vidya Nagari. There are several other colleges, including medical colleges, located in Mumbai. Hospitals specializing in cancer treatment receive patients from all over India. Haffkine Institute in Parel specializes in vaccine research. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalay (formerly called the Prince of Wales Museum) is also located in Mumbai and contains valuable art, archaeology, and natural history sections. Mumbai is the birthplace of novelist Salman Rushdie and orchestra conductor Zubin Mehta. It is also the center of movie production in India and aptly nicknamed the “Hollywood of India,” or “Bollywood.”

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